About

"It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

TERRAYN is...

UNIQUE

"Criticize by creating" - Michelangelo

We set out to stop just complaining about the games available to us. We love them and some of them we play religiously, but we wanted more and we weren't getting it... thus Terrayn was born. With a mixture of things you've come to expect in a 'sandbox' game and things that have never been attempted before in an online format, Terrayn will keep you occupied for as long as your imagination can hold out.

COOPERATIVE

While you can play Terrayn by yourself, the fun really kicks in when your friends join in. Many hands make light work, and they also make things that are impossible for a single player to build alone. A single adventurer doesn't need an inn, a bank or a cathedral, but groups of players do. Communication tools and skills will be necessary to keep all of your followers informed as to your next objective. On the other hand if you don’t want to just assume others are carrying out your wishes, you can use our API (a set of tools that lets YOU program parts of the game) to create your own minions who will tirelessly build, explore, create and fight for you without question. Develop an amazing tool, set of actions or an architectural blueprint, and share them with others… or keep the power to yourself. Click here for more information about the API.

PERSISTENT, YET CONSTANTLY EVOLVING

Terrayn is a living, breathing world where the changes that you wreak on the land and your fellow players can change the course of history. On the other hand, building a legacy by definition implies *protecting* that legacy not just from other players, but from the depredations of time, weather and Acts of God (or of the dev team). You can leave the game for mundane things like work and family, but when you come back your buildings, belongings and reputation may not be as shiny as when you left. New discoveries in tool technology, building techniques and Magic, as well as the constant discovery of new lands will keep Terrayn fresh long after other games have become routine.

YOURS!

Terrayn has a storyline of its own to give context to the limitless world we’ve developed for you, but it puts the tools of creation and fulfillment in YOUR hands. YOU mold the landscape above and below ground to fit your personal vision. YOU create architecture to mimic anything on earth... or create in your own personal style and inspire gamer generations to come. Build monuments, great walls, structures that pierce the clouds or delve deep into the bowels of the earth, icons of past civilizations or visions of the future… all as expressions of YOUR creativity and will. Build YOUR legion of followers to protect you from those who would oppose you, and wrest ultimate power in the land from the despots who rule... and struggle against becoming one yourself. The future history of Terrayn is waiting to be written by YOU.

Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, writer and lecturer once said "The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty 'YES' to your adventure". Come join us and say “YES!”… to TERRAYN!!

Build Your Legacy!

We're trying to really open up the world of building here. Build your house. Build fences and a barn if you wish to farm the land. Build taverns, inns, and markets to start a town. Build a castle, complete with a dungeon and armory, to start a new kingdom.

What does the tavern need to look like? That's almost entirely up to you! We'll have some requirements for these special buildings, but we're going to give you as much freedom as possible.

Build a cart to be pulled by a horse or even by other characters! Build a boat for navigating water, completely designed by you (provided it floats, of course).

Wynnid Vashtar

Farming is a bit more interesting. There will be different types of crops you can plant, water, and harvest. You can then consume the goods or sell them for profit. But it doesn't just stop at planting. You'll be able to raise livestock, breed, milk, and even butcher. Each has its own skill-set. For the players who wish to stay away from violence, this is the perfect way to make a living and grow in strength.

Yeah, sounds lame... but let's see if we can make it interesting. The idea behind digging is twofold.

First, you'll need to dig to gather materials to build things. Rock to build a rock wall, coal to heat a furnace, iron ore to create nails... all of these things come from digging down into the ground. Don't worry. Once you get far enough you can just hire a computer serf to do it for you.

Second, building a city underground has its advantages. Anyone can guild a city above ground, but a lot of hard work and sweat goes into digging a cavern large enough to house a kingdom.

And, of course, there has to be fighting. Don't worry, we'll include some excellent forms of fighting. From monsters to players, this will be a part of the game. Not into fighting other players? We'll have areas built just for you that are safe from this type of combat.

There will be special places that require groups of players and/or computers to fight. It's not just about one player conquering the world, after all.

Eldric Vashtar

What is an API? An Application Programming Interface of course! Wait - what does an API have to do with a game?? EVERYTHING!

Here's a sample script that can be put on any living object you own, including yourself!

We really want to redefine how sandbox games are played. This allows you to not only define what the world looks like, but how the world does something truly custom.

Environment Sample

Base functions available on all living objects:

THE TEAM:

The Team behind Terrayn and CodeMushroom LLC is a group of like minded geeks and nerds who really just wanted to do something awesome that they could be proud of. We all wanted to work on our dream project - but not just work on it - produce and run it!

REWARDS:

Let's be honest... creating a great game is a lot of fun. But it's no fun if you aren't helping us shape it! That's why we are using KickStarter. We want to deliver a high quality gaming experience that, above all else, allows you to be awesome.

We have some sweet rewards to encourage you to support Terrayn!

The Vision

We have one vision for Terrayn: Be Awesome. Create an awesome world. Create an awesome game. All leading up to one thing... Allow YOU to be AWESOME.

When we looked at creating a game that we wanted to play we gathered
all the features, the story line, and the ideas we had and threw it all
into a big blender. Terrayn was born! We got so excited that we
decided to start working on some proof of concepts and once we started
stringing these together we realized that we really had something
unique!

We have well over 30 years of development experience among
us - on all different platforms with various technologies. We have over
40 years of gaming experience... there are plenty of fun games out
there but they tend to be in a specific genre that's been hammered to
death and we want to change all of that.

So we did.

Terrayn is a real MMO.
That is "Massively Multiplayer Online" game. There is no "OH MAN! I'm
on a different server... I guess I'll create a new character." There is
one realm. You get to play with everyone else.

Terrayn is a real Sandbox. That
is "Sandbox". You want a hole there? Dig one. You want a tree there?
Plant one. You don't like the shed you built? Tear it down. You don't
like that mountain? Well, that's a lot of digging... but you can make it
happen. You want to be King? Go get the votes... or a big knife... and
probably an army. You want to dig down and build an entire civilization
underground? Welcome to Terrayn!

You can't be online
24/7 (well - unless you live in your mom's basement. Which is OK; we
don't judge!) so you'll need help. Hire a serf! Remember that Sandbox
part? Tell your serf what to do! We have an API for that.

Terrayn is a real RPG. That
is "Role Playing Game". You pick one of the 4 starting kingdoms, which
are huge, or leave those in the dust and go start your own kingdom! Of
course you better have a lot of resources, muscle, and skill!

Risks and challenges

We at CodeMushroom are building Terrayn to be "the game we wish we could play" - and that presents a lot of challenges. We are working from a very limited budget at this point in time, which is challenge #1. We have had to search extremely hard to find the right group of people willing to work for food and smiles to get the project this far.

Our primary technical goals include:
Everyone Plays Together - a single, endless world, regardless of the quantity of players. Never again be separated from your friends, old or new, as they will always be on the same realm! This presents a challenge to ensure we live up to this bold claim. Part of the funds will go to stress testing this infrastructure to be sure we have a stable system.

The World is your Sandbox - In Terrayn, everything is controlled by you! Some games, like EverQuest Next, contain sandbox-like components but aren't truly and completely player controlled. Terrayn is. You want to dig a hole? You want to mine deep into the ground to set up a city? You want to build and knock down your castle? You want to invade your enemy's throne room and dethrone the king? These have been the driving elements behind the design of Terrayn since the very first bit of code. This adds a complexity to our design as everything needs to be thought of as constructable and destructible.

Part of the reason we're utilizing KickStarter is to have the ability to continually stress-test our servers and code. We also need to secure the quality of assets and full time development time. We have an amazing group of developers and have designed unit tests, integration tests, and stress tests to go hand in hand with code deployment since day one. Our goal is to spin up thousands of virtual machines and hammer the login and data servers at points to simulate load so that when we go for Beta release you'll be able to enjoy a stable platform.

Obviously, the biggest risk is delivering the product we promised... and delivering it on time. The goal for $300,000 is to create an open Beta for all contributors within 18 months. We would then show the progress and ask for additional funds to finish the game and really stress it out.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

Help shape the game! We'll start providing versions of the game to play as early as we can (for PC only) before ALPHA and BETA, allowing you to provide your input as early in the development stage as possible. This is your world after all! Includes all previous non-limited rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Exclusive T-Shirt, designed only for members of the $100+ club! Only the exact number needed will be manufactured - never again will you have a chance to receive this shirt. Includes all previous non-limited rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

An exclusive piece of account bound gear that you will possess for eternity. This piece of gear will be only given to those who pledge $300 or more. Stand out in the game and show others how you helped to create a new era of gaming. Includes all previous non-limited rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

You will be invited to partake fortnightly in online live Q&A sessions to further shape the game! Become part of the integral success of Terrayn and leave your mark all along the way. Includes all previous non-limited rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

Your face - in the game! We will have our modelers incorporate your visage onto an NPC character! You could be a peasant, a barkeep, or a diabolical mob! Maybe a bust in the throne room? Includes all previous non-limited rewards.